Nature – Page 9 – Photos from Northern Norway: A photo blog

Picture of European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) couple on boatshed roof

7 Comments / Birds, Boatsheds, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Sky, Spring / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 25th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see an European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) couple sitting on the roof of an old, decaying boatshed. Starlings are a sure sign that the spring has arrived here in Northern Norway so these birds are a very welcome sight.
From as long as I can remember starlings has been breeding in the same nest box on our barn and each spring they sit on the barn-roof singing. It is so nice to listen to the starlings mimicking other birds as the starlings are masters of mimicking. When I was a kid I used to try to get the starlings to mimic me whistling. I think I was able to do it once 🙂

Check out my other bird photos here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Laupstad (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in Northern Norway

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Picture of Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) over snow-clad mountains in Northern Norway

37 Comments / Aurora Borealis, Landscape, Nature, Night, Northern Lights, Norway Norwegen Norge, Sky, Snow, Star, Winter / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 4th 2008. Click image for larger view.

We had some beautiful northern lights (Aurora Borealis) some nights ago here in Northern Norway. It was pretty jaw-dropping to watch the lights traveling incredibly fast over the sky so I had to grab my camera to share it with you all.
In this picture I have used a 10 seconds long exposure time to capture the northern lights over some snow-clad mountains. Please click on the image to look at the larger 1024×768 version to better view the northern lights and mountains.
I think this was the last northern lights this season as the midnight sun will appear in some weeks and the nights will be too light to observe the northern lights.

Check out my photo of some northern lights over our boatshed on New Years Eve.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 10 sec (10)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 11 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Ånstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

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Macro picture of yellow snail shells – Land snails eaten by mice

11 Comments / Macro, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Shells, Snail / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 2nd 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see four yellow snail shells from some kind of land snail species. During the winter the markings on the shells has almost vanished so it is hard to say what species they are, but I’m guessing these are shells of white-lipped snails (Cepaea hortensis) as they are native pretty far north.
You may notice that a couple of the shells are broken. The broken shells combined with a lot of mice droppings around them make me suspect that mice have had a gastronomical meal.
Feel free to leave comment if you know what kind of snail species this is.

Check out this macro photo of a sea snail with seaweed as background.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: SÃ¸rvik (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in Northern Norway

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Picture of small Scots pine tree (Pinus sylvestris) in a winter landscape in Northern Norway

15 Comments / Clouds, Landscape, Mountain, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Scenery, Sky, Snow, Tree, Winter / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 2nd 2008. Click image for larger view.
After a period of not taking any pictures I got some inspiration today and went out on a photo trip.
I found an area where some Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) were growing wild. I really liked the form on this little tree and the snowy scenery made a good background for a picture. The mountain peak is many kilometers away, but I used a zoom lens to make it look closer.
Scots pine is the only pine tree species growing wild here in Norway. It can reach 40 meters and there has been found trees that are over 800 years old.

Check out this picture of a lonely birch tree standing in a marsh filled with mist. It’s one of my personal faves 🙂

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: SÃ¸rvik (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in Northern Norway

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Photo of old Norwegian summer barn against mountain

7 Comments / Barn, Countryside, Landscape, Mountain, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Scenery, Sky, Snow, Winter / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera March 14th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see a traditional, old Norwegian summer barn with some mountains as background. In older times these barns were used to house livestock during the summer season. The summer barns were often located a bit away from the farm land and closer to the forests and mountains where the livestock grazed.
Notice the common juniper and small birch trees growing on the summer barn’s grass roof. It must be decades since it was last in use.
The sun was about to set and so that explains the red color on the snow.

If you want to take a look at other decaying buildings check out this and this picture.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 11 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Ã… (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in northern Norway

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